How we grade and endorse candidates
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus grades candidates. Our connected political fund, the Minnesota Gun Owners PAC, endorses them. The two share the same leadership and Board of Directors.
Grading
What goes into a grade
Every grade draws on:
Our candidate survey, sent to each candidate. It covers constitutional carry, self-defense law reform (stand your ground), licensing and registration, universal background checks, the right to keep and bear arms, and related topics.
The public record: votes and public statements. Candidates with a track record in office, such as a voting record or bills they authored, are graded on that record too.
Grades from like-minded gun rights organizations.
Our board reviews and approves every grade.
Watch: our survey and endorsement process.
Grades
What the grades mean
Top grade
A+
The candidate works with us to pass our bills, supports our legislative priorities, and helps advance our mission.
Endorsement threshold
A- or higher
The candidate supports all of our legislative priorities, including Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Carry, and opposes all gun control legislation.
Provisional
(P) Provisional
A (P) next to a grade means it is based almost entirely on the candidate’s survey, because the candidate has little or no public record or voting record on gun rights.
Did not respond
No survey
Candidates who don’t return a survey are marked as such and graded on their existing record and other public statements.
Endorsements
Who the PAC endorses
The Minnesota Gun Owners PAC endorses only candidates who:
1. Receive a grade of A- or higher,
2. Support our core legislative priorities, Constitutional Carry and Stand Your Ground, and
3. Ask for our endorsement in the survey process.
For incumbents, our Legislative Scorecard shows every vote we scored this session: bills, amendments, and procedural motions.
Questions about grades and endorsements? Email us at contact@gunowners.mn.
Minnesota’s gun owners are not backing down.
Join the Caucus and keep us at the Capitol, in court, and in every race that matters.